The muscadine grape, Vitis rotundifolia Michx., is a popular fresh fruit grown in the Southeastern United States. In the North Florida climate, it ripens in late August when few other fruits are in season. The berries are large, as compared to other grape species, and are borne in small clusters of 5 -10. When fully ripe, the berries on some previously existing cultivars such as ‘Dixieland’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 4,771) are generally bronze, but the berries on other preexisting cultivars can range from red to black with slightly raised lenticels, giving a somewhat mottled appearance.
‘Supreme’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,267) is a muscadine grape cultivar introduced in the late 1980s for the fresh fruit market in the Southeastern United States. It was developed from a cross between the female variety ‘Black Fry’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 5,824) and the pollen parent ‘Dixieland’ made by Mr. W. G. Ison. ‘Supreme's’ distinguishing features were that it was an improved variety at the time of its release of the muscadine grape, and the large sized black berry. ‘Black Fry’ was developed from a cross between the female variety ‘Fry’ (unpatented) and the pollen parent variety ‘Cowart’ (unpatented), also made by Mr. Ison. ‘Black Fry's’ distinguishing features were that its characteristics, such as quality, shelf life, and sugar content were superior to both parents. ‘Triumph’ (unpatented) is a cross made by Mr. Fry in 1965. The original seedling was identified in 1971, and the cultivar has been grown commercially for over a decade. Two distinguishing characteristics of ‘Triumph’ are its prolific pollen production, making it an excellent planting adjacent to pistillate cultivars, and the high percentage of its berries which separate with a high dry stem scar (i.e., no tear in the berry at the point of detachment for the pedicel). Despite these distinguishing characteristics of ‘Supreme’, ‘Fry’ and Triumph', customers are always looking for a variety with even bigger berries. Furthermore, we have found that the yields for ‘Supreme’ and ‘Fry’ were inconsistent in different years and locations.
Thus, there has been a need to develop a new cultivar that has a berry size that is larger than the current muscadine variety and has a firm flesh texture with relatively thin skin and good flavor, which also retains important agronomic characteristics such as vigorous growth, disease resistance and very low fruit rot. Additionally, there is a need to develop a muscadine grape plant cultivar with a relatively low wet scar to minimize berry damage for the fresh fruit market.